title: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) for totally intrarenal tumours.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) for totally intrarenal tumours (TIT).
  
  
  METHODS
  TIT were defined as completely intraparenchymatic masses, without any exophytic element. Identification of such a tumour necessitates guidance of intraoperative laparoscopic ultrasonography. Data of patients with TIT who underwent LPN was collected from our Ethical Committee-approved database. Their data was compared with that of patients who underwent LPN for tumours with any degree of exophytic element. The two groups were compared for preoperative data (age, gender, tumour size and location), intraoperative variables (warm ischemia time [WIT], open conversions rate, radical nephrectomy [RN] rate, blood loss and other complications), and postoperative data (renal function, reoperation rates, pathological results, and incidence of positive surgical margins).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 458 patients who underwent LPN, 41 had TIT. The mean (sd) tumour size was 2.6 (0.8) cm, mean WIT was 22.6 (13.8) min and blood loss was 279 (210) mL. The RN rate was significantly higher in the TIT group compared with the remaining cohort of LPNs (9.7% vs 5.3%). The intra- and postoperative complications, open conversion and positive margin rates were similar between the two groups. Malignant tumours were found in 84.2% and 78.2%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LPN for a TIT is technically feasible. TIT carry a significantly higher RN rate due to tumour involvement of vital kidney structures. This aspect should be discussed with the patient preoperatively but TIT should not be considered a definitive indication for RN.
authors.affiliation: Division of Laparoscopic Urology, Department of Urology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel. nadua@clalit.org.il
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nadu
authors.forename: Hanan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lubin
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baniel
mesh_terms: D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome